page_title: John C. Frémont
section_title: Blair feud and corruption charges
hierarchical_section_title: John C. Frémont / American Civil War / Department of the West (1861) / Blair feud and corruption charges
caption_attribution_description: English: Francis Preston Blair (February 19, 1821 – July 9, 1875) was an American politician and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He ran for vice president in 1868 but lost the election. Caption of photo at LOC is "Gen. Frank P. Blair"
context_page_description: John Charles Frémont or Fremont was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a US Senator from California, and in 1856 was the first Republican nominee for President of the United States.
  A native of Georgia, Frémont acquired male protectors after his father's death, and became proficient in mathematics, science, and surveying. During the 1840s, he led five expeditions into the Western United States and became known as "The Pathfinder". During the Mexican–American War, Frémont, a major in the U.S. Army, took control of California from the California Republic in 1846. Frémont was convicted in court-martial for mutiny and insubordination after a conflict over who was the rightful military governor of California. After his sentence was commuted and he was reinstated by President Polk, Frémont resigned from the Army. Frémont led a private fourth expedition, which cost ten lives, seeking a rail route over the mountains around the 38th parallel in the winter of 1849.
  Afterwards, Frémont settled in California at Monterey while buying cheap land in the Sierra foothills.
context_section_description: Frémont's arrival brought an aristocratic air that raised eyebrows and general disapproval among the people of St. Louis. Soon after he came into command, Frémont became involved in a political feud with Frank Blair, who was a member of the powerful Blair family and brother of Lincoln's cabinet member. To gain control of Missouri politics, Blair complained to Washington that Frémont was "extravagant" and that his command was brimming with a "horde of pirates", who were defrauding the army. This caused Lincoln to send Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas to check in on Frémont, who reported that Frémont was incompetent and had made questionable army purchases.
  The imbroglio became a national scandal, and Frémont was unable to keep a handle on supply affairs. A Congressional subcommittee investigation headed by Elihu B. Washburne and a later Commission on War Claims investigation into the entire Western Department confirmed that many of Blair's charges were true.
  Frémont ran his headquarters in St. Louis "like a European autocrat". Perhaps this was due to a sojourn through France before his appointment by President Lincoln. There, Frémont had rented a lavish mansion for $6,000 a year, paid for by the government, and surrounded himself with Hungarian and Italian guards in brassy uniforms. Frémont additionally set up a headquarters bodyguard of 300 Kentucky men, chosen for their uniform physical attributes. Frémont had surrounded himself with California associates, who made huge profits by securing army contracts without the competitive bidding required by federal law. One Californian contracted for the construction of 38 mortar boats for $8,250 apiece, almost double what they were worth. Another Californian, who was a personal friend of Frémont, but had no construction experience, received a contract worth $191,000 to build a series of forts, which should have cost one third less. Frémont's favorite sellers received "the most stupendous contracts" for railroad cars, horses, Army mules, tents, and other equipment, most of them of shoddy quality. A rumor spread in Washington that Frémont was planning to start his own republic or empire in the West. Frémont's supply line, headed by Major Justus McKinstry, also came under scrutiny for graft and profiteering. Frémont's biographer Nevins stresses that much of Frémont's trouble stemmed from the fact that the newly created Western Department was without organization, war materials, and trained recruits, while waste and corruption were endemic in the War Department under Lincoln's first appointed Secretary, Simon Cameron.
caption: Frank Blair was Frémont's political rival in Missouri.
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